1965 Chevrolet Corvair 500

Brandt Teske, 21; Buena Park, California

Feature Article from Hemmings Classic Car

Which comes first: The love of old cars and the palpable tugs they manipulate via heartstrings, or a mechanical ability to make them run and drive and look the best they can? Does the sudden appearance of an old car in someone's life trigger the desire, or does the longing for the manipulation of mechanical objects make the care and feeding of a vintage automobile an obvious evolutionary step? It's the classic chicken-and-egg story, and not one that's always easily answered.
Not so the case with 21-year-old Brandt Teske and his 1965 Chevrolet Corvair 500. The Buena Park, California resident took possession of this particular example and set about making it mechanically sound before he even possessed a driver's license.
What we know about the history of this particular 1965 Corvair 500 is mostly factual and sparse with anecdotes: Donald Crone bought it almost-new in 1967, for the princely sum of $2,000 -- roughly its base price as new, so not all that great a deal in the scheme of things. It was as barebones as you could get: 95hp engine, bench seat, three-speed stick, poverty hubcaps, radio delete, not even backup lamps. Donald's sister well remembers riding around in the back of that car. Crone was shipped off to Vietnam in 1969, and the 60-odd-thousand-mile Corvair sat in his mother's Southern California garage waiting for his return.
That return never occurred: Crone was declared MIA a scant few months before his expected return in 1971. "She believed he'd come home until she died about five years ago," reports Brandt. "The Corvair just sat for 30 years. Grandma figured that he'd come back one of these days and he'd want it, so she kept it in the back of the garage for him."
After her passing, Brandt's uncle did some research and, setting aside sentimental value, discovered that a base-model Corvair didn't have a great deal of financial worth. It was due for the crusher. Until ... "I stepped up and said 'Hey, I need a car,'" says Brandt. "For $100, the price of the new tires he put on it, I took it home. It was all original, and had some dents and dings, but overall it was in pretty decent shape. I could have left it as it was, or maybe just done the body."
Needless to say, Brandt hasn't left well enough alone. He rebuilt the carbs with the help of some friends when he was 16, even though he didn't get his license till he was 18. (He was good enough to let his parents drive it instead.) He blames those same friends, along with his Uncle Don's $100 Corvair, for getting him into mechanical diddling, thus setting him on a path that will doubtless bear fruit in the near future. Another old car has come and gone since he took possession of his Corvair: a 1966 Mustang coupe. "It was a six-cylinder three-speed base-model coupe, just like this one. I got a deal on it. Even if this Corvair wasn't there for me, there would have been an old car somewhere along the line for me."
To help bolster his learning curve, he spent time working at a local Corvair repair shop. "Through the Fullerton Corvair Club, I met Jeff Williams, who owns California Corvairs in Corona, California. I worked for him for about a year. Took 'em apart, refurbished them, put in new components. I learned everything about these cars through him."
From there he moved on to the Automotive Technology program at Fullerton Junior College, where his teachers believe he has a bright future ahead of him. So far he's gotten his certificates in engine and cylinder head rebuilding, is working on a welding class to help him with bodywork, and will be working on his brakes and suspension certificates shortly.
With all that going on, getting his own Corvair back the way he wants it is a slow burn. "All the bodywork and paint is done inside and out, I rebuilt carburetors again, installed bumpers recently, put in the vent windows with seals. I haven't had to do much to the engine at all -- just gaskets and seals. It's got 65,000 miles now and it'll drive anywhere. The 500 model was a low-option car, and I'm going to restore this one that way. You always see them restored with bucket seats and four-speeds, but I'm going to do this one back to stock, as close to factory as I can."
The interior, at time of photography, was largely out of the car, although the remaining tri-tone upholstery looked respectably clean. And he drives it whenever he gets the chance.
"No problems," says Brandt. "It handles fine, despite what some people say." (Cue images of Ralph Nader.) "They're well-built, and the three-speed on the floor has nice long gears. It's a great highway cruiser."
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This article originally appeared in the March, 2007 issue of Hemmings Classic Car.